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Basileus Konstantinos V of the Byzantine Empire
Basic Biography: Baileus Konstantinos V Isauros (Birth and death ca. 18th of June, 741 A.D. -- 26th of February, 780 A.D.) was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 769 A.D. to 780 A.D., a skilled military strategist and a major figure for the Byzantines for his deeds in restoring the Byzantine power and order. He was of the Isaurian dynasty and successor after the death of Basileus Leo III. Early rule: As Baileus Konstantinos V rose to power and many believers of the Faith disliked his predecessor, Basileus Leo II, for his heretical thoughts which brought the birth of Iconoclast faith into the Byzantine Empire, they were skeptical of Konstantinos V. To gain the trust of his vassals, Baileus Konstantinos V went against his predecessors ideals and banned the Iconocalst faith from being openly practiced, thus increasing the Orthodox power and restoring a new Ecumenical Patriarchy by 16th September, 774 A.D. in Constantinople. Re-conquest of Epirus and Greece On the 23rd of March, 770 A.D. Baileus Konstantinos V has already declared war on all of the Slavic pagan rulers from the West, claiming the lands of Greece and southern Macedonia. The Slavic pagan rulers, in response, formed a defensive coalition between each other against the Byzantine Empire. Baileus Konstantinos V called every available vassal to arms and re-assembled his army of 12,000 men in Constantinople. The Slavs' army size was of a much smaller stature with 5,000 soldiers in Lychindos and 3,000 in Achaia. By the 30th of March, he set foot in Adrianopolis, marching towards the enemy. As soon as the Bolghar ruler from the north country of Bulgaria heard of the news of the pagan war, he took this chance to declare war on the Byzantine to retake the county of Thrake. Baileus Konstantinos V was outraged by these news, but kept marching towards the enemy in the west, doing massive damage in 3 major battles. (Check the battle of Thessalonike, Battle of Árta and Battle of Achaia.) The Slavs were heavily weakened and surrender arms by 17th of August, 770 A.D., giving back the lands to the Byzantines. Baileus Konstantinos V created the Doux of Greece and Epirus. The Doux of Greece was given to his niece, Evanthia of house Isauros and Epirus to Manthos of house Touvakes. Bolghar Siege of Constantinople 770 A.D. As stated before, the Bolghars took advantage of the wars in the west and declared war on the Byzantine, instantly marching an army of 10,000 men to Constantinople with the command of Khan Eskhakh of house Dulo, in 12th of June, 770 A.D. and razing everything on their way. After the win of Baileus Konstantinos V in the west, a month after the beginning of the Siege, he set march towards Constantinople as soon as he heard of the news. The Bolghars didn't have good enough Siege Equipment to enter Constantinople, instead they kept harassing it, possibly to infuriate Baileus Konstantinos V. As Baileus Konstantinos V marched through the county of Maroneia, he was ambushed by a group of Slavic heathens. The Ambush cost Baileus Konstantinos V 800 men, leaving his army size down to 10,400 men. The Bolghars had set a huge encampement outside of the Constantinople and prepared for Baileus Konstantinos' V arrival. After the fierce battle of Constantinople, Baileus Konstantinos V came out victorious against all odds with only a loss of 4,000 men and enemy loss of 7,000 men (See the Bolghar Battle for Constantinople). After this victory, the Bolghars fled behind their border and Baileus Konstantinos V chased them with no rest for his troops. As soon as they entered the county of Mesembria, Baileus Konstantinos V razed every village to the ground and had small resistances with the locals. He split his men into 2 groups. The first group was to remain in Mesembria and the second group was to march towards the county of Karvuna, current capital of Bulgaria. Shortly after capturing both provinces, the Bolghars surrendered and paid for war reparations. Mid Rule: After his victories in the west and north, Baileus Konstantinos V was praised by all across the realm. After securing their hold in Greece, Baileus Konstantinos V set focus on restoring the Orthodox faith in all counties and improve relations between vassals. For better management over Anatolia, he created the Doux of Anatolia, putting Chrysogonos of house Skepastos in power. In the north-east, he created the Doux of Trebizond, putting Konstantios of house Krinites in power. Death and Legacy: During the Imperial Elections for a new heir, Basileus Konstantinos V voted for his son Nikephoros of house Isauros to become the emperor, from which many vassals followed and voted. During an unexpected epidemic of Camp Fever, Baileus Konstantinos V got heavily sick and died shortly after in ca. 26th of February, 780 A.D. A mass gathering for the funeral followed and Baileus Konstantinos V was buried in Constantinople. His deeds of restoring the Empire to order and the Orthodox faith back, were not to be forgotten. Nikephoros was shortly elected as Basileus and took the rule over the Byzantine Empire. Little did they know that he was going to be known as "The Great"...